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Three years ago, we naively stepped onto the trail of parenting expecting a short backpack: a jaunt with a defined ending. We thought we'd be able to try it out and see how it went, then pick up our lives where we'd left off. Instead, my husband, Herb, and I found ourselves on the Appalachian Trail of foster parenting, lost without a map, in the rain, wondering where the heck our guide was.

Our first foster child, a 6-year-old kindergartener, arrived on an April afternoon. When she began appearing in our columns shortly afterward, we called her Little Wren, because she often sang as we hiked, a little brown bird chirping in the woods.

The first time Wren popped the big question, we were standing on a mountain trail just a few months after she'd come to stay with us. It was a little muddy and a little warm. The trail was steep, so we'd stopped to take a break. We hiked holding hands in those days but had let go to rest."Can I call you Mom?" she asked.

3of66Click through the slideshow to learn about other hikes in the area that our outdoor writers have tried, including the trail seen here in Saratoga Spa State Park.

4of66Saratoga Spa State Park . The new one mile paved bike-pedestrian trail along Route 9/South Broadway linking East-West Road to Gideon Putnam Road, and extending the existing trail to create a new trail loop at Saratoga Spa State Park. Read more about the new trails.

5of66Saratoga Spa State Park . Map shows trails at Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs. Read more about the new trails. (Courtesy of Saratoga Spa State Park)

6of66Sleeping Beauty Mountain Trail, Fort Ann, NY . Sleeping Beauty lives up to it's name in that it can be climbed quite comfortably, almost in your sleep. The total distance amounts to only 7-miles (roundtrip) culminating with an endless horizon in many directions. An early morning arrival at Hogtown trailhead may help you avoid competing with other hikers for parking. Visit PilotGirl blog for more details. Find trail information.

12of66Plattekill Mountain, Roxbury, NY . On your way up this gentle ascent, explore abandoned quarries filled with enormous slabs of Bluestone, a sedimentary sandstone once used for NYC streets and sidewalks and now prized for upscale patio projects, gardens and countertops. Read more about this hike on PilotGirl. Find trail information.

17of66Kaaterskill High Peak, Hunter, NY . Located in the Great Northern Catskill region of Greene County, this is a rugged, challenging climb bounded between two scenic gorges (Platte Clove and Kaaterskill Clove). At 3655 ft., KHP is one of the 35 peaks that rise above 3500 ft. in the Catskills, and was the inspiration for artists and literary giants such as Thomas Cole, Asher Durand and Frederick Church. Read more about this hike. Find trail information.

21of66Kaaterskill High Peak, Hunter, NY . Remnants of a plane crash along the way. Read more about this hike. Find trail information.

22of66Kaaterskill High Peak, Hunter, NY . Marker for the Hardenbergh Patent, a deed between one Sir Johannes Hardenbergh of Albany and a tribe of Native Americans in an exchange for two million acres of land in 1708. Read more about this hike. Find trail information.

23of66Hunter Mountain, Hunter, NY . Besides a great skiing destination, Hunter is the second tallest mountain in the Catskills and ideal for a day hike, with a fairly easy ascent/descent of seven miles. Read more about this hike. Find trail information.

28of66French Mountain, Lake George, NY . A short vertical climb of 1.2 miles or 2.4 roundtrip through an area ravanged by three bloody campaigns fought during the French and Indian War of 1755. Read more about this hike. Find trail information.

33of66Letchworth State Park, Castile, NY . You don't have to go too far to see the the No. 1 state park in the country, according to a USA Today poll. Located 35 miles southwest of Rochester or 60 miles southeast of Buffalo, the deep gorge boasts three large waterfalls on the Genesee River and as many as 50 smaller chutes on surrounding tributaries. There are 66 miles of hiking trails including horseback riding, biking, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Read more about this park. Visit park web site.

34of66The Great Range, Adirondack Mountains . Definitely not an easy, little day hike. This 25-mile trip over 10 peaks, eight of them more than 4,000 feet tall, including Mount Marcy, New York's highest mountain, was ranked No.3 on Backpacker Magazine's list of "The Hardest Day Hikes in America" in 2005. In this photo, outdoor writer Herb Terns climbs the ladder on the way to Armstrong Mountain. Read more about this hike. Find trail information. (Courtesy Alan Wechsler)

35of66The Great Range, Adirondack Mountains . This photo is a view looking out at Saddleback and Basin Mountains from Gothics. Read more about this hike. Find trail information. (Herb Terns)

36of66The Great Range, Adirondack Mountains . View of the summit of Haystack Mountain with Basin in the distance. Read more about this hike. Find trail information. (Herb Terns)

38of66Goodman Mountain, near Tupper Lake, Adirondack Mountains . This peak was named for Andrew Goodman, who, along with fellow civil rights workers James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, were kidnapped and killed by Ku Klux Klan members in Mississippi in 1964. Read more about this hike. Find trail information. (Herb Terns/Times Union)

39of66Goodman Mountain, near Tupper Lake, Adirondack Mountains . This hike is short, just more than a mile and a half to the southern-facing summit. It can be climbed in combination with nearby Coney Mountain to make a longer hike or as part of a visit to the nearby Wild Center in Tupper Lake or the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. Read more about this hike. Find trail information. (Herb Terns / Times Union)

42of66Klondike Notch Trail, Adirondack Mountains . A trail between the Adirondack Loj outside of Lake Placid to John's Brook Loj. Access to the lodges allows hikers days of backcountry hiking in the forever-wild Adirondack High Peaks, with views such as this one of Big Slide Mountain. Read more about this hike. Find trail information. (Gillian Scott / Times Union)

43of66Klondike Notch Trail, Adirondack Mountains . A trail between the Adirondack Loj outside of Lake Placid to John's Brook Loj. Access to the lodges allows hikers days of backcountry hiking in the forever-wild Adirondack High Peaks, with views such as this one of Wallface as seen from Summit Rock on the Indian Pass trail in the High Peaks.. Read more about this hike. Find trail information. (Gillian Scott / Times Union)

44of66Klondike Notch Trail, Adirondack Mountains . A trail between the Adirondack Loj outside of Lake Placid to John's Brook Loj. Access to the lodges allows hikers days of backcountry hiking in the forever-wild Adirondack High Peaks, with views such as this one looking back at Wallface from the other side of Indian Pass. Read more about this hike. Find trail information. (Gillian Scott / Times Union)

45of66Klondike Notch Trail, Adirondack Mountains . A moose print in the mud along the Klondike Notch Trail in the Adirondack High Peaks. Read more about this hike. Find trail information. (Gillian Scott / Times Union)

47of66Dix Mt. Wilderness, Adirondack Mountains . Tunnels under the Northway, like this one, the Shingletree Pond tunnel, can lead to a whole new world. Read about this hike. Find trail information. Photo by Herb Terns.

48of66Dix Mt. Wilderness, Adirondack Mountains . Tunnels under the Northway, like this one, the Shingletree Pond tunnel, can lead to a whole new world. Read about this hike. Find trail information. Photo by Herb Terns.

49of66Dix Mt. Wilderness, Adirondack Mountains . Tunnels under the Northway can lead to a whole new world, with views like this one from Saunders Mountain with Bear Mountain in the foreground and the newly named Grace Peak behind to the right. Read about this hike. Find trail information. Photo by Herb Terns.

50of66Dix Mt. Wilderness, Adirondack Mountains. Claw marks show where a hungry bear climbed a beech tree on the lower slopes of Bear Mountain. Read about this hike. Find trail information.Photo by Herb Terns.

52of66Essex Chain of Lakes, Adirondack Mountains . 18 bodies of water in the Essex Chain Lakes complex, 19,600 acres of waterways and forest land south of the tiny community of Newcomb in Essex County is one of the most recent additions to the Adirondack Forest Preserve's roster of lands that is protected from development but usable by outdoor enthusiasts. Read about a canoe trip through this area. Find more information.

53of66Essex Chain of Lakes, Adirondack Mountains . Corrie O'Dea, a natural resources planner with the DEC, carries a canoe down a path to Deer Pond. Read about a canoe trip through this area. Find more information. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

54of66Essex Chain of Lakes, Adirondack Mountains . A group of paddlers made up of members of the DEC, The Nature Conservancy and the media make their way across Deer Pond. Read about a canoe trip through this area. Find more information. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

55of66Essex Chain of Lakes, Adirondack Mountains . A view looking up the lake at the dock on the campsite at Deer Pond. Read about a canoe trip through this area. Find more information. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

56of66Essex Chain of Lakes, Adirondack Mountains . A view of the campsite at Deer Pond. Read about a canoe trip through this area. Find more information.(Paul Buckowski / Times Union).

57of66Essex Chain of Lakes, Adirondack Mountains . A sign post on the trail to Deer Pond. Read about a canoe trip through this area. Find more information. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) .

58of66Essex Chain of Lakes, Adirondack Mountains . A informational board along the path into Deer Pond. Read about a canoe trip through this area. Find more information.(Paul Buckowski / Times Union).

59of66Essex Chain of Lakes, Adirondack Mountains . A full page in the registration book at the start of the trail to Deer Pond. Read about a canoe trip through this area. Find more information. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union).

60of66Essex Chain of Lakes, Adirondack Mountains . A group of paddlers makes a portage in the Essex Chain of Lakes area of the Adirondack State Park. Read about a canoe trip through this area. Find more information. (Rick Karlin / Times Union)

61of66OK Slip Falls, Adirondack Mountains. Go deep into the woods off Rt. 28 near Indian Lake you will find this majestic 250-foot waterfall that has been on privately owned timberland for more than a century and cut off from public view. The 2.5-mile trail to the falls was opened in July 2014. Learn more about the trail to OK Slip Falls.

62of66OK Slip Falls, Adirondack Mountains. Go deep into the woods off Rt. 28 near Indian Lake you will find this majestic 250-foot waterfall that has been on privately owned timberland for more than a century and cut off from public view. The 2.5-mile trail to the falls was opened in July 2014. Learn more about the trail to OK Slip Falls.

63of66Northville-Placid Trail, Adirondack Mountains . Some people crank out more than 20 miles a day, while others go just a few miles; there are no rules. Some people return to this trail year after year like a pilgrimage. To hike it is to understand why they come back. It may break you down, but more often, the NPT restores something you didn't know you were missing. In this photo a beaver vlei near the Salmon River on the Northville-Placid Trail. Read more about this hike. Find trail information.

64of66Northville-Placid Trail, Adirondack Mountains . It's not all owl calls and swimming. Sometimes the Northville-Placid Trail will wear you out. Gillian Scott takes a break near Browns Brook. Read more about this hike. Find trail information. Photo by Herb Terns.

I wish I could say my heart swelled and I said something loving and supportive. Instead, panicked, I hesitated and then said something inane and vague. I might have said, "I'm not really your mom." I cringe thinking about it now.

Herb and I thought she was leaving. We thought the little girl with the gap-toothed smile and raging tantrums would be gone in a few weeks, or a few months (At the end of the school year, the county suggested. Then later, at the end of summer. Then, maybe by Christmas). Meanwhile, we were taking care of her, but we weren't really her parents — every caseworker visit, every court date, every activity form we couldn't sign was another reminder. Wren started out by calling us babysitters and, many days, that's what we felt like.

As foster parents, our job was to hold her in a safe place until a permanent solution came along. While we waited, we took her outside as much as we could. We hiked and paddled and camped, skied and whitewater rafted. We taught her to swim and to ride a bike. We did our best to embrace the journey, both the hills and the valleys, never knowing when it would end.

On multi-day backpacks, there is sometimes a sense that there is both not enough time and too much time. Hard miles wear down your feet and legs and hips, leaving you aching and longing for a real bed. Yet beautiful sunsets, wildflowers and the soft wind in the trees make you wish you didn't have to go back to work. There's "Will this day never end?" But there's also, "Does this day have to end?" That was foster parenting. We wished for Wren's sake that things would move more quickly, that this painful period would pass. But, selfishly, we also began to wish we could watch her grow up.

Our weeks with Wren stretched into months, stretched into years. Along the way, we learned the pugnacious face she turned to the world hid a river of fear over the events obliterating everything she knew. We learned how to be good trip leaders for a strong-willed little person on and off the trail, and to provide (most of the time) the calm stability that keeps her grounded. There were times the pack of our responsibilities felt too heavy, or the straps chafed a little. But we learned to adjust and keep moving, and after a while, things began to feel more natural. The second time she asked to call me mom, I told her I would be honored.

Though Little Wren is happy to appear in our columns, we're protective of her privacy and reluctant to share too many personal details. But we want to tell you that she is officially our daughter now. She will always be someone else's daughter as well, and that makes her adoption a happy event coated in loss. To ignore the loss is to be blind to a piece of her; to not find joy at the same time would be to fail as her parents.

So Herb and I have not reached the end of our parenting journey. Or maybe we have reached the end of one part of it. Maybe we are standing on top of Mount Katahdin, the Appalachian Trail's northern terminus, looking out over the Great North Woods. There's a green carpet of wild beauty stretched out in front of us, the hard trek up the Knife Edge behind us. In our hands is a map, and we're tracing our fingers over new trails, looking for the next adventure, together.